The Settee Chronicles
by GranthamGal
Summary: Robert and Cora's escapades, including various pieces of furniture throughout the Abbey.


A/N: This story is my half of a bet with _Krisnreine_. I do hope you all enjoy our efforts. I also give credit to my pals on Tumblr who, along with myself, have decided that no piece of furniture in Downton Abbey is safe from Robert and Cora Crawley.

* * *

Violet had seen a great many things during her reign as Queen of Downton. There had been war and death and the birth of her children. A very new sight, though, was the sight of the butler and two footmen struggling to drag what looked like the large settee from the sitting room, down the driveway, away from the house. A mixture of curiosity and annoyance at having not been consulted, she set out to find the likely culprit immediately.

She found her son in the sitting room, surveying the now empty space with a rather strange look on his face. "Robert, why on earth have you gotten rid of that settee? It was a very nice piece and it matched the room perfectly!"

Robert turned to greet her with a sheepish expression, one she vaguely remembered him wearing as a young boy. "Well, apparently it was not very well made. The footmen found it broken this morning. Two of the legs gave out and it was just lying on the floor."

"Two of the legs gave out? In the middle of the night?"

Robert nodded, still grinning oddly. "Yes, Cora and I are going to find a new piece when we are in London next month."

"I see. Well, do see that you find something with a bit more support." Violet muttered, rolling her eyes.

* * *

Robert and Cora had been married for three years now. Around a year into their marriage, furniture around the house had suddenly become rather unreliable. There was the broken chair from the dining room, the leather chair in the study that left with what looked like nail marks on the seat cushion (though she was told insistently that the dog had done it), and the chaise longue that was originally in Cora's bedroom.

Each piece had been carted out in much the same fashion, with the strangest explanations attached.

And each time, Robert wore the same sheepish expression.

The previous night, Violet and Patrick retired early. It was nearly summer and the countless social calls and afternoon teas characteristic of the season were beginning to wear on her last nerve. One could really only be cheerful for so long and she had grown tired of sitting at various tables across the county, pretending to be interested in whatever the mindless conversation of the day happened to be.

So she had retired early, hoping to get a bit of rest.

What she had not expected was to be jolted awake, around one o'clock in the morning, to a rather odd creaking noise that could only be coming from the downstairs sitting room. Violet knew her bedroom was directly above the room, as she often heard her husband sneaking down late at night for a drink, but she doubted anyone else knew as much.

When she heard what sounded like someone groaning, she decided she really was suffering from a severe lack of sleep, and had forced a pillow over her head to drown out the odd noises.

Thankfully, as she suddenly now realized, she had not gone down to investigate.

* * *

Robert and Cora were having a particularly enjoyable month. All the parties and trips down to London for preseason events had turned out to be great fun for the young couple. Cora enjoyed parties and Robert enjoyed going out with Cora on his arm. There were not many young people in the county surrounding Downton and they both found it rather nice to spend time alone, or in the company of people their own age. The events were certainly more raucous and they often woke with dumb grins and thick heads come morning.

This time, they had only just returned from London in time for dinner with his parents. Though, after a particularly amorous train ride back, in their private car, Robert rather wished they had the house to themselves. Robert often fell asleep on the train rides from London to Downton. Not a fan of silent rides, where she was left to stare out the window, Cora had perfected several methods of keeping Robert awake. And they were most effective. _  
_

Unfortunately, before either could satiate their desire, the train pulled into the station and they were whisked back to the reality of Downton, and the reality of living in close quarters with dozens of servants and his parents around every corner. Luckily, they had both perfected several methods of keeping this fun as well.

Cora eyed Robert all throughout dinner. Each time he tried to catch her appraising glances, she looked away with the skill of someone well versed in their little game. But still, he knew she was watching him. Cora, in turn, tried not to blush or squirm in her seat as she replayed the events of their afternoon train ride. She nearly feigned a headache so as to be released from the dinner, but she did have rather a good time toying with her husband right under his parents' noses.

When they were both about to burst, about halfway through the dessert course, Lord and Lady Grantham excused themselves, leaving the young lovers to fend for themselves. Robert had quite enough of their extended foreplay, all throughout dinner, and he was ready to be alone with his wife. Dessert paled in comparison to the sort of treat he was already visualizing.

Suggesting a drink, he offered her his arm and led her to the sitting room. He supposed a quick drink could not impede their evening and would relax them both from the day of travel. Robert often underestimated his wife. They were just half way to the sitting room when Cora turned, placing herself in front of her husband, and leaned up for a kiss. What he was more unprepared for was her roaming hands, which almost immediately grazed just below the waist of his trousers, causing his knees to tremble slightly. And as quickly as she had begun, she pulled away, continuing their walk to the sitting room.

Robert resisted the urge to pick her up and run the rest of the way, though his pace admittedly quickened.

The door to the small room had barely swung closed before they were all over each other; an onslaught of passion, the overheated couple lost themselves in a frenzy of roaming hands, exploring tongues and murmured gasps and words of pleasure.

Cora's loud giggles and gasps, fueled by the repressed passions of earlier in the day, and her wine at dinner, had to be muffled somehow and so Robert pressed his lips insistently to hers as he backed her further into the room, his mouth covering hers and his hands firmly on her waist. Cora only continued to gasp loudly, though, and when she tore the front of his shirt right open, he lost the ability to control his own sounds. too.

Perhaps it did not matter. His parents were off to bed already. There was no reason they could not enjoy their night without the worry of interruption. He scanned the room quickly before zeroing in on the most delightfully perfect location to continue.

Robert picked up his wife and carried her to the large settee on the far side of the room. He knew she rather enjoyed their little escapades throughout the house, and the settee seemed as good a place as any. It was a rather old and ugly piece of furniture, some ghastly print his mother insisted was timelessly in style, but it was certainly large enough for two people.

Cora happily obliged, reclining on the settee and looking up at Robert with hungry eyes and a mischievous grin painted across her delicate features. A rosy blush had begun to creep up her chest and neck, the product of their intense coupling, and it only served to excite him more. Cora began to untie the various bows and buttons on the side of her dress, but Robert stilled her movements and instead pushed her skirts up until they pooled just around her waist. "Just leave it on," he murmured to Cora's appreciative moan. She was more than happy to concede to this particular direction; her myriad skirts, corset and underthings were only obstructions to their passions and Robert had often ripped them off in frustration.

They were both excited at the prospect of a bit of fun in the library, but if the servants ever found them fully unclothed, thrusting against one another like animals, he knew his parents would ring both their necks...and likely begin locking the downstairs rooms at night.

It only took Cora seconds to help free him from his trousers and they hit the floor with a satisfying thud, followed by her lace undergarments immediately after. Robert took the lead, then, and pressed Cora's back flat against the settee, hovering above her only slightly before thrusting into her with a loud groan. "God, Cora, I've wanted you all afternoon," he rasped, the feeling of her around him nearly overwhelming them both.

Cora matched his movements and leaned back slightly, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. He thrust quickly into her, over and over again and as his pace quickened, it was almost as though the room began to shake slightly as well. The movement all around them was intense and unusual and excitingly new. Robert wondered if it could be attributed to the excellent night of sleep he had the previous evening; his energy was quite good and obviously served to improve his stamina.

Cora's wondered if the odd movement could be due to something entirely different.

"Robert….Robert, I think..." Cora began, but when shifted ever so slightly, pushing even deeper into her, all coherent thoughts were clouded with a wave of intense pleasure. Instead, she leaned up into his body, pressing insistently against him, as if their bodies weren't already close enough.

Robert felt tiny beads of sweat collecting at the base of his neck and when he dropped his arms to the cushion for better support, a rush of heat ran through his body, coursing like pleasure as Cora scraped her nails down his front, nearly to where they were joined.

Just as her fingers brushed against him, causing him to jerk from the intense feeling of it, an audible _creak_ echoed across the room.

Their eyes met just as Robert paused, still inside her, and moved his head to look around the room.

They were still alone.

He grinned wickedly at his beautiful wife, and her flushed expression, and thrust assertively once more; hoping they could pick back up where they left off.

One final thrust was all it took. Robert and Cora both cried out, grasping at each other desperately, intense pleasure overtaking them both.

They were not the only ones in the room that were spent, though.

Buckling under the weight and enthusiastic motions, two of the wooden legs attached to the settee cracked, splitting right in half and sending the settee tumbling straight to the ground and the couple straight onto the floor. It was an antique, after all. And it was no match for Robert and Cora Crawley.

They hit the rug below with a painful thud and mutual wince. "Well at least we both finished," Robert offered. Cora only swatted at him and groaned a very different sort of groan. When they sat up dazedly a moment later, taking stock of the ruined settee, their discarded clothes, and horribly mussed appearances, loud giggles escaped them both. It was an utter mess, and quite unbecoming of the future Lord and Lady of the house. When they locked eyes again and their giggles faded to quiet breaths, they both knew respectable behavior was the last thing either was interested in for the remainder of the evening.

Cora grabbed their clothes from the floor, and Robert's hand, before running right out of the room, suggesting they continue their night far away from the scene of the crime.

Only a lone hall boy saw Viscount and Viscountess Downton running madly up the stairs, she with lace undergarments and trousers in hand, and he in only his undergarments and dinner shirt. They both saw the hall boy, of course, out of the corners of their eyes, but nothing was going to stop them from making a run for it.

They decided later that night, in conspiratorial whispers, that if anyone asked, they were no where near the sitting room that evening.

But perhaps, the furniture in the library should be tested as well, just for safety.


End file.
